Former Attorney General Eric Holder told comedian Bill Maher during his Friday show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” that comparing President Joe Biden to former President Barack Obama is not “fair.”
Despite Biden having received more votes than Obama ever did, Holder told Maher it not “fair” to compare Biden to the “popular” Obama. Biden received more than 81 million votes in 2020, while Obama received roughly 69 million votes in 2008 and approximately 65 million votes in 2012.
“The fact that the Democrats, by every poll I read, are, I would just say, losing their base. I mean, if you look at non-white working-class voters, there’s been a 61-point shift. That’s an incredible amount from 2012; that’s in 12 years. Obama in 2012, when you were the attorney general, I think won it by 67 points, that demographic. Biden won it by 48; now he’s only up by six. What’s going on there?” Maher asked. (RELATED: Donald Trump Says Biden’s SOTU Speech Was ‘Good Enough To Get Him Over The Heap’)
“Well, I think, first off, you’re measuring March against November,” Holder said. “This, looking at what, where people are right now, I think you’ll probably see a movement with regard to working-class people of all races toward Biden by the time we get to November.”
“You’re also comparing an extremely, an unbelievably popular African American running for the first time and who really galvanizes people, you know, in all strata of life,” he continued. “And so I think in some ways that’s not a fair comparison. But I think we should not be too alarmed by these March polls. Gotta take them into consideration, but March is a fundamentally different month than October and November. We’ll see where these things turn out when we get to that part of the calendar year.”
Bill Maher: “The fact that the Democrats that by ever poll I read are losing their base. If you look at non-white working class voters, there has been a 61 point shift. Obama won it by 67 points, Biden won it by 48. Now he’s only up by 6. What’s going on there?”
Eric Holder said… pic.twitter.com/s9sU3NMlch— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) March 16, 2024
“Hmm, okay. But— ” Maher started before the audience cut in with laughter.
“I mean, the deal is, there’s work to be done,” Holder continued. “But I’m actually optimistic that if we stay committed, focused and, as the media turns its attention to making this a binary choice between a person whose got some age and cognitive issues — that would be Trump — against somebody who has actually accomplished a lot, I think will do just fine.”
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump currently leads Biden in every battleground state, including Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada, according to RealClearPolitics.